On 19 February, a meeting between Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, and a delegation from the Union Coordination Committee (UCC), of which EI’s affiliates are part, in addition to the League of Public Employees failed to resolve the dispute over the new wage scale for public employees.
Unions promise action
LPESPL President and UCC head Hanna Gharib described the meeting as “negative” and stressed that the UCC will go ahead with escalatory measures to “confront a conspiracy” by the Government and the Economic Committees against public employees.
TSL President Nehme Mahfoud called on the Government to meet and approve the new wage scale and refer the bill swiftly to the Parliament.
But Mikati postponed the government session that was set to tackle the new salary scale, alleging that the Government has had huge difficulties in finding funds to pay for the salary scale approved last year.
UCC blocks work of ministries
The UCC then called for a continuation of nationwide protests on 20 February, where the open-ended strike paralysed a number of key public institutions and public schools across Lebanon. Demonstrators threatened to interrupt work at a new government department each day until they receive the wage raise.
“Today, we froze work at the Finance Ministry Department responsible for the Value Added Tax (VAT) as a first step before we paralyse all the ministries’ departments,” Gharib told demonstrators on 21 February. “Tomorrow, it will be the Education Ministry, and so on. Ministry after Ministry, we will carry on with the open-ended strike to block all administrative work.”
Public employees also held a rally outside the Education Ministry and reiterated their demand that the government refer the salary increase bill to the Parliament.
Speaking to hundreds of teachers and civil servants outside the Ministry of Education, Mahfoud said: “The Government should take responsibility for this open-ended strike. We have taken to the streets and will not leave, as tomorrow's protest will be outside the Ministry of Agriculture.”
The major cities across the Lebanon were also witnessing similar rallies outside government and public buildings.
Teachers join strike
While public school teachers throughout Lebanon joined the strike by 20 February, classes in many private schools were held as normal despite the UCC’s call for participation in the protests.
Mahfoud further warned private-school administrations against taking any measure against teachers who participate in the UCC strike. “It is a right guaranteed by the law. We will take the necessary measures against those schools,” Mahfoud stressed.
To put further pressure on the government, Gharib said some official exams will be delayed. “Students will not sit for official exams, unless they complete their curriculum,” he stated, adding that school days missed due to the strike would be compensated for.
Continuing action
On 23 February, UCC went ahead with its open-ended strike by staging a demonstration near other ministries in Beirut, and held a meeting with the protest committees formed for all ministries to set a plan of escalating measures for the coming days of the strike.
“We will protest on Monday, 25 February, near the Central Bank, the Tourism Ministry, and all public institutions nearby at 10a.m.,” Gharib said. He called on all public-institution employees to participate in the UCC strike until the government meets their demands.
On 25 February, the seventh day of its open-ended strike, the UCC protest gathered near the Lebanon’s Central Bank in Beirut to press the Government to refer the new wage scale to the Parliament. Hundreds of protesters rallied and held banners calling on public authorities “not to manipulate the people.”
Security forces initially prevented journalists from covering the demonstration.
EI: Decent salaries for teachers
EI General Secretary Fred Van Leeuwen, in a letter to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, sent on 25 February, expresses EI’s concern “about the plight of the teachers of its member organisations in Lebanon”.
EI supports the UCC demands that led to open-ended strike on 19 February.
“International research has shown that quality education depends on high-quality teaching delivered by qualified professionals,” van Leeuwen underlined. “Such qualified teachers cannot afford to remain in the profession if their salaries are not sufficient to pay for their living costs and are decreasing effectively as the cost of living increases.”
EI urges Lebanese authorities to approve the new wage scale and refer the draft law swiftly to the Parliament. It also calls on its affiliates to write to the Lebanese government in support to their colleagues.
